The A Game
by Nyony's Echo
Summary: This is the tale of perfectionist Kagome Higurashi, a student whose best efforts have always put her at the top of her classes, and the indifferent, infuriating Inuyasha Takahashi who gives her a run for her money. It's a fight to the finish; may the best student win. InuKag, MirSan, SessRin, KogAya
1. prologue: the birth of a star

**AN**: Wow. Okay, it's been a while since I've uploaded a new story. Through all the tumult and strife that is school (primarily studying), I've come to understand just how stressful it can be to be a student with a whole future on the line. I'm sure a lot of my readers can relate. This anxiety and pressure was a source of inspiration which led me to give birth to this story. So without further ado, please enjoy:

* * *

**The 'A' Game**

**Summary: This is the tale of perfectionist Kagome Higurashi, a student whose best efforts have always put her at the top, and the indifferent, infuriating Inuyasha Takahashi who gives her a run for her money. It's a fight to the finish; may the best student win. **

**Prologue: the birth of a star**

**Disclaimer: rights go to Rumiko Takahashi**

It happened on Kagome's tenth birthday.

An epiphany.

As she sat at the head of her dining room table, a cheap plastic tiara placed sloppily atop her head, surrounded by the people she loved most in the world, and mere seconds away from blowing out the candles of her mint chocolate chip ice-cream cake, Kagome Higurashi realized that she didn't know what to wish for.

It wasn't like there was a whole lot missing from her life. There was nothing extravagant about her existence, but then again, she didn't need there to be. She didn't have a dream or anything of the like, either. She wasn't like her best friends, Sango, Ayame, or Rin, who wanted to be successful business women, Olympic athletes, and Hollywood actresses (respectively). And all the wishing in the world wasn't going to bring back her deceased father- even at ten years old, she knew that.

So what reason did she blow out her birthday candles for?

What was she good at? What did she _want_?

And suddenly, just like that, Kagome found herself in an identity crisis.

It dawned on her that she'd been alive for a _decade_ and she had nothing figured out. The only word she could use to describe herself was ordinary, and nobody wanted to be called _ordinary._ It was the loser of adjectives. So, there was nothing left to do but find herself and her tenth birthday would become the turning point of her life- the day that she would look back on in the future and realize that _that_ was when her life had purpose.

She drew a deep breath and blew, with newfound resolve.

* * *

After that, Kagome embarked on a very important journey of self-discovery; she tried various different activities to try and find exactly her calling in life was. One piano, three guitars, two saxophones, one flute, one trumpet, and seven karaoke sessions later, Kagome crossed music off her list.

She also joined the track team with Ayame, who was the most gifted runner and overall athlete she knew, but at the track meet, after finishing three events, Kagome had an embarrassing hurl in front of all the representatives from eight schools. Though, in her defense, she'd won first place in all of events. But no Olympics for her.

Rin had persuaded her to join the school's drama club and helped the members put together their annual play. She played the main character's evil, jealous sister. And although Rin's superb acting skills were clearly inspirational, she just couldn't find it in herself to channel her inner movie star. So that was it for Hollywood.

Kagome was in a slump. She was _good_ at everything she tried but she wasn't _great_. None of the things she did lit a fire within her.

Her mother, a kind-hearted, wise woman who'd been through her share of struggles in life recognized her daughter's mysterious quest for purpose and sat down with her.

"Kagome, honey, I'm not sure quite what you're trying to accomplish but I respect your wishes and know you must be doing what you're doing for a reason. However, I think you've looked right over the most important thing in your life right now. And that's your studies. You can't forget about school, okay, dear? If anything, it's the most sure ticket to a steady, comfortable future."

How had she missed it? Maybe it's because it was so _broad_. Studies meant anything. It could mean law, medicine, science, modern languages. But... she figured, one of the many, many options good grades presented _had_ to call to her. Right?

And there it was. Her search was over.

Or so she thought.

So she tried hard. She gave it her all. She poured all her energy and talent into performing well in school. By the time she was in middle school, her peers recognized her keenness and zeal as a part of her, as what made her so amazing. She wasn't just a model student, she also participated in school events, and joined clubs and teams.

Kagome's excellence was her identifier and for a while, she thought herself as really, truly happy. She could see the clear path set out for her and she knew what direction her future was headed. Everything was great.

Until it wasn't.

It was the first day of high school.

The principle had called her to the office and told her, "Miss Higurashi, we are pleased to welcome you to Shikon High. You scored very high on your entrance exam and would like you to present an introductory speech to the rest of your peers in your year."

This was all very expected, and Kagome glowed with pride. She had studied fervently for her high school exam, bent on getting into her number one choice. Of course she had scored well. That was who she was.

"... only second to one other student. He will accompany you and stand with you on stage. He has decided to pass on saying half of the speech but I'm sure his shyness will ebb with time."

That was her first meeting with Inuyasha Takahashi. And most certainly not her last.

From the moment she laid eyes on him, she knew he was special; he was tall, with an exceptionally boyish face that didn't easily ease into a smile. The fierce gold of his eyes promised a sure challenge and that was exactly what Kagome got.

For the first time since she had chosen this path, she was not the best in her classes. The ones she shared with Inuyasha, _he_ was number one. She was stuck in the measly position of second. Which, for some unspeakable reason, stung more than being in, let's say, third or even fifth place (not that Kagome knew from experience, but she just had the feeling it did). He took away everything that was rightfully hers with no so much as a look in her direction. He was always passive, silent. Never overly keen or enthusiastic. In fact, most of the time, he seemed like he didn't give a rat's ass about the things that made up Kagome's whole world.

But Kagome Higurashi didn't give up. Failure wasn't in her vocabulary.

She would bring Inuyasha down and rise to her rightful spot. Eventually. There was no challenge she could not accept.

_A rival_, she thought. A grin spread across her above-average face. This, too, was the result of dutiful self grooming and well-maintained hygiene. _This is going to be fun._

* * *

**AN**: Hmm. In the original story line, Kagome is so busy going back and forth between her time and the feudal era that she ends up flunking all the tests she takes. And so I wondered... what would happen if she actually got to apply herself?

Hope you enjoyed- please feel free to leave feedback :)  
Wishing you all a very successful start to a new school year!

Hugs,

~Nyony


	2. chapter 1: intervention

**AN:** Ooh look at that- I actually updated within two weeks. I wanted to get this chapter in before I'm flooded with schoolwork. Hope you like!

* * *

**The 'A' Game**

**Chapter One: Intervention**

"Open up!"

Kagome blinked her eyes blearily, the sound of a familiar voice rousing her from sleep. Mumbling a few unintelligible words, she rolled onto her stomach and pressed her pillow over her head to block out the noise.

There was a quick rapping against glass.

"_Ugh_," she groaned, and languidly pushed herself onto her feet. Kagome ran her hands through her bird-nest-looking bed hair and leaned forward to open the lock on her window. "Sango, you better have a good excuse for waking me up on a Sunday morning. During _summer break._"

Mentioned friend snorted and climbed through into her bedroom. "I'm surprised you weren't already awake. Figured you'd gotten up at the crack of dawn to do some trigonometry or something. Isn't that the Kagome Higurashi way?"

"Um, school starts tomorrow, so _no_. Hard no. Even I deserve to sleep in once in a while. But oh wait- no, I don't, according to my amazing and equally amazingly awful best friend Sango Taijiya."

Laughing, Sango sat down on her bed. "Wow, you're so scary right when you wake up. No fear; I predicted this and prepared an apology gift." She reached into her crossover body bag and presented a box of cupcakes, slathered with white icing that read, 'THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM' in green letters. "Get it? 'Cause we're juniors now? Ha ha. I'm so funny, I know."

Kagome rolled her warm brown eyes. "Okay, fine, I accept your apology. Just because it involves food, which is undoubtedly my only weakness. You snake." She paused to open the box and reached for a cupcake. "Wait. Since we're celebrating, shouldn't we call Ayame and Rin? You know, to commemorate the last day of freedom before entering the prison that is school?"

"Oh please, you _love _school; don't lie. You couldn't fool anybody even if you tried. And I have called them, but Ayame is training for the opening athletics meet that's in a week, and Rin has an audition. But they're meeting us for lunch. By the way, we're going out for lunch. Oops. Followed by dessert. Lots of it. And karaoke."

Kagome proceeded to tugging a brush roughly through her long, black waves while simultaneously trying to yank a fuzzy blue sweater over her head. "I don't know, Sango, I still have to finish the last book on the summer reading list..."

Sango sighed. "Kagome, I love you. I really do. But you need an intervention, and I'm going to give it to you. You work so hard, yet you don't allow yourself nearly as much rest as you deserve. It's a bit unhealthy."

"You know why."

"Inuyasha," Sango replied, without missing a beat. "God. If I weren't your best friend, I would think you're in love with him or something. It's borderline obsessive, don't you think? And- Oh, my goodness, I nearly forgot to tell you. They broke up."

She stuck a bobby pin in her hair and plopped down on the floor next to Sango's feet. "Who's _they_?"

"Inuyasha and Kikyo. They're done, finished, over. Just like that, after two years of dating. I was beginning to wonder if they were going to get married after high school. Their babies would the most socially awkward little things _ever_. But really attractive."

Raising her brows, Kagome asked, "Where'd you hear that? I'm sure it's just a rumor."

"Well, I heard from Ayumi who heard from Eri who heard from Yuka. But everybody knows now because it spread like wildfire the second it got out. No one knows what the reason for their breakup was, only that it was one sided. Kikyo dumped him. Apparently it was a cold, hard dumping. I didn't think she was capable of something like that."

"People have a funny ways of surprising you," Kagome agreed. But she was just as stunned. Kikyo and Inuyasha became a couple almost at the beginning of freshman year and were, hands down, the strangest pair to roam the halls of Shikon High. While Inuyasha was disturbingly popular and highly sought after for being 'unattainable and cold', Kikyo was the most anti-social character anyone had ever heard of. She was eerily beautiful, with porcelain skin and raven-black locks that ran down her back, but had virtually no friends due to her seemingly inanimate personality.

Despite the odds, people had to admit that they were rather interesting together, and the unlikely match seemed to be unusually happy for the duration of their relationship. Whatever drove them apart had to be a force to be reckoned with.

"It's weird. I mean, it's not like I knew them or anything, and they were plenty strange, but they really did seem to love each other. Anyway, since we're on the topic of relationships, tell me: how's it going with Hojo? You guys have been dating for, what, a year and a half now?"

"One year and three months," Kagome corrected. "And it's going fine."

Sango pursed her lips carefully. "Fine," she repeated slowly. "That's it? Fine? What does that word even _mean_?"

She bit into a cupcake, the frosting smearing on her upper lip. "He's sweet and doting and I like him well enough. He respects my space, and I his, so there's never any problems. But he goes to his all-boys school and I go to Shikon so it's not like we get to see each other enough for any of that to change. Our relationship, in my perspective, is at a standstill. That's all there is to it."

"Well that's boring. Are you thinking of breaking up with him?"

Kagome made a face. "I've thought about it... but I'm not sure. Maybe. He's just so great, though, that'd I'd feel bad about ending it without any solid reason. That reminds me. I heard from Rin that she set you up on a blind date? Next Saturday? My little girl, all grown up... feels like only yesterday that you were ranting about how men suck and how you hate them all. This is a pivotal moment of your life and I couldn't be prouder. Though... knowing Rin, I'm a little scared. She said you two would be perfect for each other, but her judgment can be a little... clouded."

"I only agreed because she swore to me that she had my best interests at heart. Which is questionable, but I wasn't going to say that to her face because then I'd have to worry about Rin-Revenge, and that should be the least of my worries right now. And stop trying to distract me! We're have a girls day out and that is final. Now go put on some eyeliner and do something about that hair of yours."

* * *

"Kagome, are you home?"

Pulling off her sneakers, Kagome dragged herself into the lounge and deposited herself onto the couch. "My voice is absolutely _shot_. I lost track of how many hours we spent just singing our lungs out."

Mrs. Higurashi just smiled pleasantly, drying her wet hands on her apron. From doing the dishes, probably. "Well, was it _fun_?"

"I had a good time. I think. But now I'm starting to feel the aftermath, and let me tell you, it's not pretty. And I have school tomorrow, dammit." She dragged an arm across her face and just lay there, breathing.

"Would you like me to fetch you some dinner, honey? I made curry."

Kagome shook her head. "It's okay. I think I'll just rest for a while."

"Make sure you sleep early tonight," her mother reminded her. "You don't want to be late for your first day. Which I already know would never happen, but, you know, as your mom, I feel that it's necessary to say those kinds of things once in a while. Anyway, I'll prepare a warm bath for you."

She smiled and sat up. "Thanks, Mom."

"I'm proud of you, Kagome. Always."

Kagome, however, was not proud of herself.

It'd been two years. _Two years_, and she remained inferior to Inuyasha. It had to end, and it was going to happen this year.

As Kagome lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling, she felt the butterflies in her stomach hatch and begin to flutter about, ensuring that she was not going to get the eight hours of sleep she'd planned; she was just too excited.

Tomorrow, it all began.

Tomorrow, she would get serious and kick her rival's ass like only Kagome Higurashi could.

Thinking back on Sango's earlier comment, how people would think she was in love with him, Kagome couldn't disagree. She didn't know the first thing about crushing on somebody, because that wasn't exactly the relation she had with Hojo, but it couldn't be much different than this: the anxiety, the butterflies, the thrill of knowing she would see him soon.

If academics were love, then Inuyasha was, undoubtedly, her soulmate.

And Kagome was going to make him realize that she was his.

* * *

**AN:** Thanks for all your lovely reviews... I read them all, and respond to each of them (unless you don't have an account or you disable private messaging). Please continue to leave your thoughts, as they motivate to keep writing!

Have a fantastic day! :)

~Nyony


End file.
